This book actually came out in December and I knew of it’s existence then but didn’t order it until January. It was some good timing because I ordered it from CDJapan (since Hobbysearch and Amiami, my first choices, were both sold out) and shortly after it was listed as out of print.

I thought the idea of them having to dedicate a book solely to SayaKyou (there exists a MadoHomu one but who cares about that) after the movie kind of silly and adorable. Well, considering the content of the movie and all. There’s one scene that just, for me, bumped the pairing from undertone to pretty much canon.

So my curiosity got the best of me. It didn’t hurt that the book was only like 1500yen and came with a few extra goodies.

Very small spoilers for the Rebellion movie follow.

Love! SayaKyou is an e-mook. A mook is a cross between a magazine and a book usually focusing on one subject. An e-mook is a term coined by Takarajimasha for such books that happen to include a gift with them. The big prize here is a sturdy tote bag. There’s also nice stickers and a poster of Sayaka and Kyouko from the cover. We’ll get into all those after though.

While of a nice, sturdy quality, the actual book itself isn’t of much use if you don’t read Japanese unfortunately and expectedly. Though I was familiar with the format I had still hoped for a compilation of general SayaKyou offical works. The content is all soley to do with the movies though so stuff like the nyantype and megami images of their cute lil dates isn’t included. Maybe one day they’ll actually do a general honest to god artbook dedicated solely to the pairing. I wouldn’t put it past them. I’m also a big enough sucker that I’d probably buy it too.

I do hope that some translations are posted one day. I know the Madoka wiki has a pretty comprehensive list of translations for magazine articles and stuff so I’m hoping it’ll happen one day. Specifically, I’m interested in the CHECK! sections and the letter from Aoki Ume to the characters. Of course it would all be interesting to read but hey, that’s the price you pay when you buy something specifically for a tote bag.

And what a nice bag it is. Nice and sturdy too. The back of the book shows a second version that you get with the Limited Edition version of the book but I’m not sure if there was any other difference besides the different design on the bag. I like the one included with this version rather than the limited edition one better anyways. It’s simple and classy. The Kyubey camo was ok for the MadoHomu books but having a Sayaka and Kyouko specific one is nice. Plus, it’s such a simple image that it doesn’t show my power limit off to those who aren’t familiar with Madoka already.

The poster is small. Kind of about the size of a Megami poster. It’s kind of plain (a background or something would have been nice) but the illustration is new and it’s cute enough, I suppose.

Now the stickers are a real surprise though. They’re such nice quality and of such important scenes for the two in the movie. Namely the “you were my only regret” scene. If you ever wanted a sticker of a close up of Sayaka and Kyouko’s hands you sure are in luck. There’s two chibi versions of them too that are a nice touch.

Unfortunately, they’re just too nice that I’m afraid to use them on anything. I’ve used K-ON and Girls und Panzer stickers from Megami on things before because I don’t really care about those series and the stickers are no big loss but these ones are just SO nice that I’m afraid to use them on anything.

Near the back of the book, there are two (new?) fanart images by mangaka and artist Etsuko Misusawa and artist Machiko Kyo. Both are absolutely adorable but I love Machiko’s art style in general so much. Again, reading the blurbs that accompany the images would be nice. Maybe it sheds some inight into why those artists were chosen? I can’t say they’re particularly well know. Would Hanokage or somebody related to the series make sense? Not to knock either artist. Both images are adorable and are in such unexpected art styles that they ended up being my favourite part of the book.

There’s also a slew of information about goods related to the movie (again, disappointed they didn’t showcase Sayaka and Kyouko stuff in general) and it turns out not so much of it was related to Sayaka or Kyouko at all. There’s also a cute little spread on how to draw Kyubey that I thought was a nice touch.

Though it may be a bit hard to get your hands on now, if you’re a big fan of this pairing I’d recommend checking this out if only for the neat bonuses and the two cute pieces of art at the end.